FIRE Solutions is recognized as the industry-leader in eLearning and eCompliance training solutions. For a more in depth understanding of our company, we invite you to read the following feature articles:

BUSINESS WIRE - December 18, 2001
FIRE Online Training Hires New Chief Operating Officer; Senior Executive With Over 20 Years of Experience Joins the FIRE Online Training Team

BUSINESS WIRE - November 19, 2001
FIRE Compliance Online Training Delivers Mandatory Securities Compliance Requirement via Internet. No Travel, Save Time, Save Money

Fund Action - May 28, 2001
Online Compliance Catching On With Industry Heavyweights

VENTURE WIRE - May 1, 2001
FIRE Online Training Gets Series B Funding

Broker/Dealer Week - May 31, 2000
Use CE to Build a Firm's "Knowledge Capital"

Insurance Compliance Week - March 9, 2000
CE Notebook: Virtual Proctor, Brought to You by Webcast CE

Broker/Dealer Week - March 6, 2000
Webcast CE Will Allow Firms To Train Efficiently, Cut Travel Costs

Broker/Dealer Week - December 8, 1999
Online Training Firm to Roll Out Product

American Venture Magazine - October 1999
Introducing FIRE Online Training

Business Week - March 15, 1999
To Cut Classes, Hit ‘Escape’

MIT Enterprise Forum - December 1998
FIRE Online Training Heats Up the Online Education Market

Business Wire - December 18, 2001

FIRE Online Training Hires New Chief Operating Officer; Senior Executive With Over 20 Years of Experience Joins the FIRE Online Training Team

San Francisco, Calif - FIRE Online Training, Inc., a leading provider of e-learning and e-compliance solutions, announced Drew Noone as the new Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Noone brings over 20 years of securities industry experience and has held many senior leadership positions at premiere retail and institutional firms. He has a successful track record integrating his business and technical backgrounds to build new solutions and create value through the development and acquisition of emerging technologies to drive new product development and revenue generation.

Most recently Mr. Noone held the Chief Information Officer posts at Robertson Stephens, Inc. and Property Capital, Inc. Prior to that, he developed and implemented the information and trading platform used by Charles Schwab & Co, Inc. Mr. Noone began his career at Merrill Lynch in sales.

"It is my privilege to join the FIRE team. FIRE has proved itself the rare exception in its ability to continue to build its business against the current economic climate, the old-fashioned way, by providing a world-class product and maintaining a laser focus on delivering solutions that meet our customers' needs," said Mr. Noone.

Juliana Lutzi, Chief Executive Officer, welcomed Mr. Noone, "We are excited about adding Drew to our senior management team. His talent, experience, and commitment to excellence will continue to add value to our customers and partners."

Business Wire - November 19, 2001

FIRE Compliance Online Training Delivers Mandatory Securities Compliance Requirement via Internet. No Travel, Save Time, Save Money. Securities firms meet stringent regulatory requirements; reduce costs by 17% and save thousands of management hours

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 2001--As businesses search for ways to reduce operating expenses, eliminate travel, and streamline business processes, FIRE Online Training, a leading provider of e-learning and e-compliance solutions for finance and insurance firms, is the first to launch a web-enabled solution allowing over 5,300 securities firms to deliver mandatory and highly regulated compliance meetings to 670,000 registered representatives straight to their desktop. This new solution reduces the costs of delivering this mandatory meeting required by NASD Regulators by an average of 17%, representing tens of thousands of hard dollars savings, and eliminating thousands of man-hours to manage the processes.

"The Annual Compliance Meeting is an important forum to distribute new regulatory information to disaggregated workforces at financial and insurance firms. With FIRE’s new technology solution, firms benefit from not only a significantly more robust platform to disseminate information, track participation and employee’s knowledge retention, but also deliver cost and time savings," says Juliana Lutzi, Chief Executive Officer of FIRE Online Training.

Traditionally, Chief Compliance Officers travel to major cities and hold these mandatory meetings in off-site conferences rooms. This requires significant travel budgets as compliance professionals travel around the country holding these meetings.

These new methods of delivery streamline business processes by empowering individuals to self-register and attend their meeting via the Internet. The firm’s content is customized to meet their specific regulatory objectives. As individuals enroll and attend a live webcast, FIRE’s solutions require individuals to participate and answer questions proving that they have attended, understood, and able to apply the information presented in real-time.

FIRE’s management tracking reports summarize participants' answers, attendance, and comprehension for the live audio presentation, automating administrative functions and streamlining internal processes for the firm.

FIRE Online Training has significant experience delivering mandatory compliance and training solutions to the financial services industries to over 22,000 professional in the past year.

"Our detailed reporting, not only provides effective monitoring of attendance and participation, but also minimizes the compliance risk by providing an unparalleled level of firm protection during a regulator audit," says Ms. Lutzi.

Fund Action - May 28, 2001

Online Compliance Catching On With Industry Heavyweights

Charles Schwab & Co., E*Trade and Allstate are part of a growing list of financial services companies that are using Internet startup Fire Online Training (www.fireonlinetraining.com) to conduct mandatory compliance training in cyberspace. Franklin Templeton Investments and OppenheimerFunds are also using the online service. Fire Online began its existence by offering online continuing education courses and professional license training sessions for financial service companies, and has since moved into a new niche of facilitating Web-based compliance meetings. Online compliance meetings are a convenient and cost-saving resource for mutual fund companies, said Juliana Lutzi, CEO. Medium-sized to large fund companies can save an estimated $1.7 million in travel and printing expenses by switching to an online meeting format, Lutzi said.

Fire Online uses a variety of Internet-based checks and balances to ensure its online platform meets at least basic compliance criteria. Meeting attendees must hear the presenters live; participants must have the ability to interact; and attendees must stay throughout the entire presentation. The last requirement is the most difficult since individuals at isolated computers are difficult to proctor. Fire Online conquers this hurdle by sending a series of questions to meeting attendees that need prompt responses. Individuals who fail to answer questions in a prompt fashion are deemed absent. "The way that we do that is to send the attendees a private message every couple of minutes. This is an unparalleled level of protecting the firm," Lutzi said.

Fire is planning a relaunch of its Internet platform on July 1 that includes added reporting and tracking functionality to gauge an attendee's level of understanding of a particular subject. These interpersonal mechanisms are aimed at gauging whether a user understands a particular subject and predicting whether that individual poses a potential compliance risk. Firms can then act on that knowledge to follow up with the necessary added training, Lutzi said.

VENTURE WIRE - May 1, 2001

FIRE Online Training Gets Series B Funding

SAN FRANCISCO (VENTUREWIRE) -- FIRE Online Training, which offers online exam preparation courses, continuing education, and mandatory compliance functions for the brokerage, banking, and insurance sectors, said it has closed its Series B financing. The amount was not disclosed. Securitas Ventures, the company's first institutional investor, led the round, with participation from individuals. Securitas will take a seat on the board of directors. Funds will be used for general working capital. Previously, the company had received an undisclosed amount in Series A financing from individuals. http://www.fireonlinetraining.com

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©2001 Technologic Partners

Broker/Dealer Week - May 31, 2000

Use CE to Build a Firm's "Knowledge Capital"

By Philip Porado

The recent enactment of financial services modernization laws (BD Week, November 22, 1999) will broaden the number of products that broker-dealer firms will be able to sell. Which means a firm should allocate some of its continuing education time to helping reps bone up on those new products, so that they can fatten the firm's bottom line.

"It's the knowledge within an organization that's important," said Juliana Lutzi, CEO of Fire Online Training in San Rafael, CA. "To maintain competitiveness, it's critical that these brokers move away from straight transactions and be able to speak to a customer about his entire portfolio." That kind of product-oriented training can help firms enhance what Lutzi refers to as "knowledge capital." And, she contends, as the financial supermarkets envisioned by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act begin to emerge, customers will begin to demand that their brokers understand a broader suite of products. "As firms start to cross-pollinate, it becomes exponentially more critical for people to know what other products are out there," she said. "You don't want people out there selling insurance products if they don't understand them." The problem, she said, is that much of the current continuing education curriculum is disjointed and prevents firms from quickly knowing what training each registered rep has, or has not, received.

Lutzi's firm develops and distributes Internet-based training systems that allow a firm to track performance company-wide. With that knowledge, a firm can link its training program with its long-term growth plans and use the required continuing education regimen to increase the reps' revenue-generating abilities. "Everybody wins. The reps make more money. The customers get better service," said Lutzi. "The regulators win too, because their objective is to protect the investor base. The better educated a registered rep is, the more suitable his or her recommendations will be."

Broker/Dealer Week Home Page

Insurance Compliance Week - March 9, 2000

CE Notebook: Virtual Proctor, Brought to You by Webcast CE
By Adam Reisman

While continuing education specialists at financial institutions have almost universal praise for the virtues of Internet-based training, they have also frequently voiced two complaints: First, that employees were never finishing these online programs on a voluntary basis; and second, that an employee's attention wavered after a time without a "proctor" to keep them focused. So say hello to the world's first online proctor.

Imagine an online training class that utilizes the same technology as Internet chatting. The new platform would list training session participants and allow them to communicate with one another during the session by typing questions and responses back to the presenter and to each other. The speaker's voice and presentation materials, which can include streaming video, are "pushed" to participants.

Best of all, the system proctors itself, according to Juliana Lutzi, chief executive officer of Fire Online Training, Inc. "During the presentation, the system asks [multiple choice] questions that people must answer within a given time frame," she said. "It makes sure people haven't walked away from the screen. We can also monitor who leaves and comes back in or late."

Fire Online of San Rafael California recently announced the creation of this new platform, which will use HorizonLive.com's Webcasting technology to deliver Internet-based compliance training. While the new system was originally developed to enable broker-dealer firms to conduct their annual compliance meetings online, Lutzi stated that the technology is easily adaptable to CE requirements, and is looking to apply it "across the board" to her firm's other financial products as well. This would include the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Series 6 exam for investment company products and variable products, as well as the Series 7, 63, 65 and 66 Exams.

The new system has other benefits as well. With traditional training - either seminars or self-study - an employee's level of understanding and retention is never captured. This makes it very difficult and time-consuming to have a truly accurate analysis of the employees' competency and understanding.

But with the new Webcasting system, Lutzi said, results from the in-session and post-exam questionnaires are tracked and turned over to management once the training is complete. "We know who answered what and when," she stated, "and let firms know if they have any high risk [employees] out there." This doesn't mean the goal is to get people in trouble, but simply to alert the firm to the need to provide targeted training to reps that need it, she added.

And once participants answer the system's questions, those responses are tabulated on a percentage basis and displayed onscreen in real time. Following the presentation, participants run through a post-exam questionnaire that helps the firm determine what people have learned. "When people at firms go to [off-site] meetings, who knows if they got anything out of it," Lutzi said. "This system requires people to acknowledge that they've been given the information and demonstrate what they've retained."

A 90-minute training session for 50 employees costs $3,000. That fee includes administration of content, tracking, creation of the questionnaires, help-desk support, and a rehearsal of the Web-cast with presenters from the client firm.

While more dynamic than static computer-based training (CBT), the new platform will also have the benefits associated with online training. By using a common web browser, it connects a presenter and an audience either on the Internet, or on a company Intranet, which allows "firms to disseminate CE or rules and regulations information via Web-cast," Lutzi said. "It's a big cost savings. Instead of having to have the compliance people go on a road show or bring people together for training, they can do it without traveling." A benchmark study by Fire Online, for example, found that its program reduced training costs for the Series 6 exam by up to 41 percent for those firms migrating to online learning.

The new system also will address the primary concerns of a financial company's compliance officers: insuring the distribution of the latest information, having an auditable trail that proves employees received and understood the information, and providing easy and flexible access to information for employees. "Online training is revolutionizing the insurance and financial industries, said Lutzi. "By migrating to these new solutions, firms will improve training results, with increased efficiency, and at a lower price point. It is the reason that the Internet exists - to deliver solutions better, faster, and cheaper."

Insurance Compliance Week Home Page

Broker/Dealer Week - March 6, 2000

Webcast CE Will Allow Firms To Train Efficiently, Cut Travel Costs

By Philip Porado

An interactive Web-casting system launched this week could make delivery of continuing education training sessions simpler and cheaper. Fire Online Training, San Rafael, Calif., developed the system so that firms could conduct annual compliance meetings over the Web. But, said CEO Juliana Lutzi, the technology is easily adaptable to CE requirements. "It allows firms to disseminate CE or rules and regulations information via Web-cast," said Lutzi. "It’s a big cost savings. Instead of having to have the compliance people go on a road show or bring people together for training, they can do it without traveling."

Securities firm employees also stand to benefit from Web training, she says, because the in house delivery means the staff does not have to "miss a whole day of generating revenue."

Using the same technology that facilitates Internet chatting, Fire’s system lists training session participants and allows them to communicate with one another during the session. "We also can monitor who leaves and comes back in or comes in late," Lutzi said. The chat technology also allows participants to direct questions to the presenters. And, said Lutzi, the system is self-proctoring. "During the presentation, the system asks [multiple choice] questions that people must answer within a given time frame," she said. "It makes sure people haven’t walked away from the screen."

Participants’ answers to those questions are tabulated on a percentage basis and displayed onscreen in real time. Following the presentation, participants run through a post-exam questionnaire that helps the firm determine what people have learned. "When people at firms go to [off-site] meetings, who knows if they got anything out of it," Lutzi said. "This system requires people acknowledge that they’ve been given the information and demonstrate what they’ve retained."

Once the training is complete, results from the in-session and post-exam questionnaires are tracked and turned over to management. "We know who answered what and when," said Lutzi, "and let firms know if they have any high risk reps out there." Which doesn’t mean the goal is to get people in trouble, but simply to alert the firm to the need to provide targeted training to reps that need it, she said.

All training sessions are archived, so that if a firm gets examined by regulators, Fire is capable of providing documentation about training efforts. "If an examiner wanted to, he could drill down to the Nth level of detail," said Lutzi. "They could know at what time and on what day each rep answered each question." Presentations also are archived, so if an employee can’t log on at a set time, he or she can run through the program later and still meet CE requirements, she said.

A 90-minute training session for 50 employees costs $3,000. That fee includes administration of content, tracking, creation of the questionnaires, help desk support, and a rehearsal of the Web-cast with presenters from the client firm. "We [want to make sure] the compliance officers and trainers can get used to the format and have a good performance," said Lutzi. Shorter sessions will be priced proportionally lower, she said.

Compliance meeting content has been developed in house by Fire and Lutzi said her firm will work with companies that want to use the system for continuing education purposes. Costs will depend on how much content development work is needed.

In a related development, Lutzi said Fire recently released an updated version of its NASD training courses. Those courses are designed to prepare candidates for the Series 7 and other securities industry tests.

Broker/Dealer Week Home Page

Broker/Dealer Week - December 8, 1999

Online Training Firm to Roll Out Product

An Internet-based firm element continuing education product will be available from FIRE Online Training, CEO Juliana Lutzi told BD Week.

The San Rafael, CA-based company currently produces training programs for broker dealer registration – Series 6, 7, 55 and others.

Lutzi said the firm-element product is in development and is on schedule for a spring release. Price has not been determined. A generic package is being developed, to which firms may add customizations. Because the courses will be offered online, Lutzi said firms will be able to use so-called data mining technology to monitor the progress of registered reps.

For a large firm, that means compliance officers and other managers will be able to look at how brokers perform when tested in specific skills areas – like high-yield instruments, or suitability. Managers also will be able to compare the performance of reps in different geographic areas. "Firms will be able to add value," Lutzi said. "The managers will see where the students are, and link that with the other training efforts."

Broker/Dealer Week Home Page

American Venture Magazine - October 1999

Introducing FIRE Online Training

By Doug Clements

FIRE Online Training, Inc. is a leading provider of online exam preparation, continuing education, and internal training courses to the finance, insurance, and real estate industries (F.I.R.E.). Corporate training and exam preparation is a $62.5 billion market and online training is the fastest growing segment, increasing at 40% annually. FIRE Online Training, Inc. is positioned to become an industry leader in this dynamic field with its leading training materials that achieve better results in less time at a competitive price point.

Business Week - March 15, 1999

To Cut Classes, Hit ‘Escape’

By Catherine Yang

... "Juliana Lutzi, CEO OF FIRE Online Training, hopes to get $275 each from thousands of students from investment-banking houses such as Goldman Sachs, who need to take the brokers’ test." ...

MIT Enterprise Forum - December 1998

FIRE Online Training Heats Up the Online Education Market

By D. George Beiter

FIRE Online Training launched its website and demo in January introducing its NASD Series 7 online training courses.

FIRE provides results-oriented training to businesses and individuals by using engaging web-based technology. The Company focuses on industries where individuals must pass an accreditation exam to be a certified industry practitioner. The company provides online coursework, testing, and instruction to prepare students for their required examinations through Internet and Intranet technology.

The company’s strategy is to enter the market via the Financial, Insurance, and Real Estate industries (F.I.R.E.) with the first deliverable to be online courses and simulations in the financial securities exam industry, specifically NASD exams and continuing education. FIRE expects to expand into the Insurance and Real Estate industries where they hope to find a market niche with the advantages of a clear and identified market with a large potential for product and brand extension.

In September the company acquired Securities Seminar, an 18-year old business in San Francisco. Recently the company gained its first technical partner and is massaging relationships with potential customers.

The company is led by CEO Juliana Lutzi. "We are focused on our mission of providing quality in every phase of every project," says Lutzi, who expects the NASD Series 7 exam preparation course to go live in July.

About FIRE Solutions
FIRE Solutions, Inc. is pioneering online NASD exam preparation, eCompliance solutions, and continuing education in the finance and insurance industries. FIRE delivers an extensive financial services hub and eLearning solution for industry professionals, including customized internal training. In addition to having one of the highest pass rates for exam preparation in the NASD securities market space; FIRE is the first company to offer web-casting for compliance services. With over 20 years of NASD training experience and state-of-the-art Internet compliance solutions, FIRE delivers unmatched communications and learning solutions through its web-based engaging, interactive courses and services. To learn how FIRE streamlines compliance processes, visit www.FIRESolutions.com, or call (415) 247-1830.